Actually, it started before that, with over two years of nausea, stomach aches, lethargy, and increasing anxiety about eating and feeling generally ‘unwell’. I think I used the words “my stomach hurts” more than any others in my vocabulary.

Eventually I received the diagnosis* of IBS, and the strong suggestion from a gastroenterologist that, despite an inconclusive endoscopy, I was likely coeliac. But to better understand what that meant for me and my body, I’d have to keep a food diary. I knew three things: I was determined to get better, I loved good stationery, and 1 in 5 people had IBS in the UK. Surely (surely!) there’d be a food diary that catered to us…right? But fruitless scouring of shops, both on and offline, proved me wrong time and time again.

First, I bought a simple, lined notebook and tracked and tracked until I found the layout that worked best for me. Through it I discovered my personal triggers: gluten, caffeine, too much apple, getting enough sleep and so on. I finally found a system that worked, and I was feeling better than ever, but I was frustrated with drawing out the layout in a notebook every. Single. Day.

So I decided to create The Food Diary Co and our beautiful diary so that, not only could I benefit, but so that others could too! Since its creation it’s helping people worldwide figure out their personal triggers and improve their health and wellbeing.

If you have any questions or thoughts about the diary, you can get in touch with us here.

*If you’d like to read the longer version of this, check out my blog post here.